Australian Photos

[rockcrawler]

Nice pics Travis, thanks!
Yeah, the australian gov is hell bent into turning its citizens into nanny hugging pussies, makes it nice and safe for them.

 

[Travis22]

Thought id share this little surprise with you guys!

Misses had this made up for me today;



Travis.

 

[tourboy]

My ol' HJ45 is ready for a Kimberely trip with the new AC fitted..lol Note the speed holes in the body and bumper for less drag. Happy Birthday too.

 

[twoturtlesracing]

Happy birthday Travis!

 

[Travis22]

No photos (yet) of my old girl since the new camera but i did spot this beauty on the weekend and stopped for a quick photo.

Travis.

She looks like a work horse alright! Lighting was terrible at the time, id love to go back when its more favorable and see if i can get some better photos.

 

[skidplate]

I'm lovin' that last pic! I think that would make a nice poster! Thanks for all the cool pics Travis.

 

[whitey45]

Travis, Really enjoy the thread and pics,been a long time dream of mine to travel the outback.I have been a snake guy since childhood and wondered what kind of reptiles you encountered along the way,I think some 2 million snakes and reptiles are killed on the roads of australia annually.Someday I will get out there and tangle with a brown,or red bellied black snake!!! cheers and keep the pics coming!

 

[Pebble Pup]

Travis, as a geologist, I love your photos. You did a great job capturing nature. Keep them coming.

 

[mustardfj40]

Love the pictures and your reports, please add more if you can. Thanks.

 

[wongtsenhin]

WOW! That's great trip. How many KM is your trip to be?
45 can handle this everlasting job? Any break down along the way?
How much fuel did you burnt out for the whole trip?

 

[Travis22]

THANKS for the kind words everyone!

Im glad to hear you guys like the photos and will continue to update ya'll with more photos so long as thats the case.

Time sure fly's, its been already 2 weeks since i finally picked up a new camera. After 7 years with the same old same old, ive 'upgraded' to the Canon 7D body (keeping my old lenses, but i would like to upgrade to some L series glass one day... well actually sooner rather then later, im hoping to trade the 28-135 in for a 24-105L asap, definitely before our 2011 Outback trip in a couple of months.) Ive also just purchased some filters which ive never used before so once again, im finally keen as hell to take some good photos... the point and shoot can stay at home again now!

....................................

Whitey45; Snakes hey! Yeh we have plenty of them over here. Honestly tho we see more wildlife in the High Country then the outback X100.

We've done a lot of bush walking, hiking and hunting / deer stalking which tends to be the time one most often runs into snakes. Browns, Tigers and Red bellies are the most common. And fair to say deadly, a Brown bite 5-6hours hike out of the woods (off track) would just about be the end of you.

I dont really mind snakes, its the spiders i dont like when stalking. Quite a few times ive walked face first into a huge web with a big ugly spider in it because i was looking around for sign etc. and not immediately in front etc. Just the thought of the buggers crawling around on oneself without knowing!!! Ive had a few (what i can only assume to be) spider bites on me while out in the bush, the worst have taken months to go away.

Ive even had the crap scarred out of me a number of times by 6+ foot long water monitors / goanna's again mostly in the 'High Country'.

Certainly not to say they are not in the Outback. I guess there is just a lot more space out there, they definitely get BIGGER out there! Croc's are most certainly a danger depending where you go.

I shouldnt say we dont see much, actually we see hundreds and hundreds of Lizards in the outback. Frilled, Thornie and again Goannas, Bearded Dragons, Gockos and the common Legless. More Lizards in the outback then the High Country...

Ok, time for some more photos; more past trips for now.

Travis.

 

[Travis22]

Ill start off with some passed High Country trip photos;

The old girl still flexes (well kinda!) not bad for 15-16year old Suspension.

However, i might add that i very recently gave em some loving by means of some shiny new ARB Anti Inversion Greaseable shackles, pins and bushings. The old bushings were well and truly shagged. The results were bloody amasing. I wish i could have replaced the lot but a lack of funds put an end to that dream.

This next photo was taken in a beautiful historical area. This 200m section of road was built circa 1880! Sadly the majority of people today wouldnt even know it existed. We have so so so many relic's from the gold mining era throughout the high country and 99% of it has been forgotten, tracks into the area closed off and in a few short years entirely overgrown.

Token poser shot on a Heli Pad in the high country.

Another poser shot, yours truly.

This trip was a bloody ripper! Another 'lost' track in the High Country. Very much overgrown and with more then a few challenges like this massive old fallen tree on which my mate had bellied out on.

Just before the Black Saturday bush fires. One of the many Dozer lines put in as a fire brake. As we know, it did very little, very very little on that day.

Ok... how about some more outback photos.

Travis.

 

[Travis22]

This lot is from our 2009 Strzelecki Trip.

I did a trip report for this trip, which is still here on Mud minus the photos.

So ill repost some of the photos from there.

.

This was Skippy # 2. The bull bar has well and truly paid for itself...

Camp a few hundred meters off the track in one of the few 'treed' spots. We got stuck there for 2 nights due to rain.

Looking 180deg to the above photo, a whole lot of nothing!

Coongie Lakes NP

One of the many HUGE lakes in there... in the middle of nowhere!

Travis.

 

[1973barnfind]

I envy your Fj45, As soon as I got my Fj40, I've been wanting to take a road trip across America.
good luck in your travels, and I hope you get your guns back

 

[Travis22]

Thanks 73Barnfind!
Dont worry mate, ive still got 'my' fair share. A few prized pieces were crushed in the buy backs (1996 & 2003) but they were immediately replaced with new ones. Kinda makes you wonder if it was really worthwhile hey!!!!!!!!! (NOT)

If i dont have a firearm on me, its fair to say there would be a knife or two or three nearby. Have been a knife collector and user for well, longer then ive been a shooter. First knife at 9, and rifle (30-06) when i was 16.

Anyone here want to guess who the maker is of this beauty. (Knife only, well if your really keen, you could guess the sheath maker too) These days ive resigned to just collecting ONE makers works, as a way of seriously cutting back the habbit He is American... as is the sheath maker.

I wouldnt go into the Outback without a real knife, the above is 10" cutting edge.

Back to the outback and some Road trains! (Time to get off the road)

Thanks for looking guys and i greatly appreciate your comments.

Travis.

 

[handcannon]

Love them pics!!! I'll probably never get to travel, but Australia and New Zealand and Alaska are my top three picks.

Don

 

[whitey45]

Travis, jealous and envious of your travels,
i always thought aussies kinda took the outback for granted,but you sure do appreciate what beautiful country you have,the pics sure do inspire me to figure out an outback adventure.
having a 2 and 4 year old make it hard,but when they get a little older,a trip is gonna happen. I would be in heaven with all the reptile diversity,those are all pets here in the us(except the venomous ones of course) I have had an aussie carpet python for 15 years,still healthy,all 8 feet! My new screen saver is your truck and mad max!! What is the story on the interceptor,clone ? I love that car and the movies,I saw road warrior when I was 11.Anyway back to the pics, I just cant get enough of your pics with the 45,it just puts a grin on my face..cheers

 

[Toshi38]

awesome pictures! reminds me of my recent trip around australia... spent 4 months exploring and wandering around. Nullarboris a long drive with no music! ... Had an amazing time its beautiful country there..

 

[Travis22]

Hey Whitiey45,

Sorry for the delay in following up. Been wanting to share some more photos but needed to take some new ones first!

I finally picked up a new len's the other week, my first Canon L. So together with the new body, photography pretty much consumes much of my spare time and i cannot wait to head back into the Outback asap.

Michelle and i will be off again soon, destination the Simpson Desert and beyond. And as the departure date looms closer the boss (Michelle) has given the go ahead for my latest project.

So today, project Canopy begun. Well actually its been on my mind for the last 12months and have been thinking about its design just about every day since then!

For the Simpson, it will just be Canopy Phase 1. And when funds / time allow i will gradually expand on it, with cage doors and canvas skirts etc... but that will be some time in the distant future. For now the most important thing is the hard top, effectively doubling our floor space.

Ive spend the last 6 hours welding everything up, and i still have another couple of days worth to finish. I love working with metal, but have no real job experience... All self taught. Believe it or not, my welder is almost older then the old girl. Easily 30 years old, more id say, its older then me! Just a big old basic trans arc unit. My father actually told me today when helping me move the canopy frame around, the my mother bought it for him all thoughts years ago, but he was never any good at welding and basically never really used it. I asked if i could have it a few years ago but have only been able to convince the misses of a few projects in that time that have allowed me to put it to use, learn how to use it!

Anyways, this is the status so far. Most of the framework is done, but i still have a fair bit of welding to finish it off. Next i want to put it on the tray and see how the roof looks, i think i may trim about 3 inches from the roof sheet sides as i think it might be just a little low but again until its on the back i wont know for sure.

Once that is sorted, ill weld in the last rails at the bottom of the roof sheet then affix the roof to the frame. Then im going to fit a 'rail' around the perimeter of the flat area on the roof. 1" SHS sitting around 2.5" off the roof, so i can tie off on it etc. Then its paint time!

These photos show the 'front' of the canopy where ive integrated the "X" bracing to provide a little additional strength like a roll cage.

Travis.

 

[Sounder]

Great thread, mate!

I'm heading up the Strezlecki in October in my HJ47 Troopy. I'll have to find your trip report and have a read. I read somewhere that Coongie Lakes NP is closed, possibly for the rest of 2011. Bugger!

Who made your bullbar? Looks just like what I'm after.

Sounder.